CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A four-run fourth inning gave Huntington a lead they would not relinquish en route to a 7-3 win over Cabell Midland in the second MSAC semifinal. The No. 2 seed Highlanders (21-5) will face No. 1 seed Hurricane (22-1) in the title game Wednesday evening at 8 p.m.
“(Hurricane) beat us twice, the second time was in ten innings. If we come out and bring what I know we can bring, I think we can come out on top,” said Huntington head coach John Dennison.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Huntington scored four runs on three hits. A pair of squeeze bunts from Trent Dearth and Braden Shepherd pushed a pair of runs across, giving the Highlanders a 5-2 lead.
“Speed kills. That’s all I can say. When you’ve got it, you’ve got to utilize it. We weren’t real hot early with the bats. So we took the opportunity to put the ball in play.
“The biggest thing tonight was not giving up that big lead early. We were staying in it and keeping it close. Basically, we were capitalizing on what we do. As you saw, a little bit of ‘small ball’ never hurt anybody.”
Shepherd earned the win on the mound for Huntington. He tossed six innings of five-hit ball while striking out six batters.
“Braden did a fantastic job. I have had Braden for years. I know what his capabilities are. He brought it tonight.”
Austin Holley, Carson Wilson and Corey Sweeney each drove in runs for the Knights (14-7). Drew Elkins had a pair of singles.
Braedon Gaul and Shepherd had multi-hit games for the Highlanders. Shepherd also scored a pair of runs.